IHMC buys former Capt’n Fun site in downtown Pensacola

The Institute for Human & Machine Cognition has expanded its holdings in downtown Pensacola with the purchase of a 1.9-acre parcel near its headquarters that was formerly home to the Capt’n Fun nightclub.

IHMC closed on the $2 million transaction on July 21. The not-for-profit research institute, which is headquartered in Pensacola and has a second location in Ocala, has grown into one of the world’s premier research organizations. Last year, the institute opened an $8 million expansion facility, the Levin Center for IHMC Research.

Located on the corner of Garden and Alcaniz streets, the property is directly across from IHMC’s headquarters at 40 South Alcaniz Street and next door to the five-story Garden Gateway Building currently under construction. The former nightclub building on the site was demolished early last year.

While the Institute celebrated their $8 million expansion last year, they are quickly reaching capacity within their downtown campus.

“We’re excited about the future, as we’re pretty much out of space and will soon need room to grow,” said Julie Sheppard, General Counsel at IHMC.

While IHMC has no immediate major plans for the site at this time, they do plan to reconstruct the surface parking lot to meet the needs of their expanded campus that currently serves more than 130 researchers, students, and staff.

“This was really a strategic move for us so that we have more room to grow,” said Sheppard. “It was a small enough property that we could capitalize on the opportunity to purchase it for use within the next 10 years.”